Highway to the Danger Zone

The Grouch and I were talking a while ago about making the transition from being a Student to a Professor. All of us in the Camp are Students of the Bible, can't deny that. But as far as studying Super Systems, I think I've unraveled its secrets already. However, that does not necessarily make me a good Pokuh Playa. After being one of the few who studied the Bible real early, I clearly had a competitive advantage. But as the Pokuh scene kept growing, I found more and more playas who I discovered to be just as learned. To put it literally, I am being read like a book, not just any book, but as a disciple of the Bible.

I knew this weeks before. In fact, I haven't read the Bible in over a month. I want to grow beyond the book and establish my own game. As I have realized over the past few weeks, Pokuh isn't that different from Golf. We all have our own swings, our own styles, our own game. You can have the most technically sound swing in Golf, but that won't automatically make you win. There's an intangible aspect to both Golf and Pokuh that is purely a personal thing. You can call it your Mojo, your Groove, your Niche, whatever. But in order to be a good Golf or Pokuh playa you need to find that intangible.

For the past two and a half years, I've fixed my own Golf swing. I haven't been relying on any Swing Coaches. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods calls this 'owning your swing'. True enough, I've played the best golf in my life the past year. Sometimes I wondered when my game is off if I needed to have my game checked, but I persevered and stuck to what worked. I sometimes get into a reverie on the course, thinking why I've improved, when I've been doing mostly the same things. But I know now it's not the same. There is that something else.

There are ways to find that intangible, as we all observe the Superstars who can, against all odds, win repetitively and even flatout dominate day in and day out. Some can only scratch their heads in disbelief, some can only stare in awe, and some simply lose their heads in denial. But the fact remains, there is an intangible out there somewhere. That is what I'm looking for right now, and that is the difference between winning and losing. Al Pacino calls it the 'inch' in Any Given Sunday. Perhaps that is what it is, perhaps not. But I'm willing to take the time to look for it, to go beyond the books, to venture out into the great unknown. When I find it, you'll be the first to find out, because that is when I'll be taking your chips constantly. :D

That's all for now, Tilter Out.